Best Special Needs Schools in Waverly, Nebraska (2026)

Villa Marie School is a specialized Catholic special education day and boarding school located on a rural campus on North 112th Street outside Waverly, Nebraska. Established in 1964 under the auspices of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Villa Marie provides a family-like, supportive educational haven for boys and girls ages 6 to 18 (grades 1 through 12) with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, and related developmental learning delays. The school features small-group classroom instruction led by certified special education teachers and the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln. The academic program is individually paced, blending functional literacy and mathematics with life skills instruction, speech-language therapy, physical education, and spiritual development. In addition to day enrollment for local families from Lancaster and surrounding counties, Villa Marie offers a unique five-day boarding program where students stay in on-campus dormitories Monday morning through Friday afternoon under continuous 24-hour guidance from the Marian Sisters, learning personal self-care, cooperative social interaction, and independent living routines in a safe, nurturing environment.

• Private special education school
• Intellectual disability
• developmental disabilities
• Down syndrome